Boeing Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are still awaiting word from NASA about when and how they will return from the International Space Station, where they have been for over two months following a thruster and leak problem on their ship.
NASA has repeatedly delayed their return from space aboard Boeing’s capsule said chances are growing that Wilmore and Williams may come back to Earth on a SpaceX ship. The astronauts have been aboard the International Space Station since early June in what was supposed to be an eight-day mission. NASA officials said during a Wednesday teleconference that they are looking to make a decision by the end of the month, if not sooner.
“It's great to be there, enjoying the environment, eating that great space food and being able to look out the window. So I know that that they're making the best of this time, but I'm sure they're eager for a decision, just like the rest of us,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
Wilmore and Williams’ Starliner capsule had a leak in its propulsion-related plumbing prior to lift-off, but Boeing and NASA decided the leak was stable and isolated and proceeded with the planned test flight. When the capsule approached the International Space Station the next day, four more leaks erupted and five thrusters also failed.
Starliner was able to dock safely and four of the failed thrusters ultimately worked but there is still no root cause for what caused the malfunctions. There are concerns that the thrusters could fail again and jeopardize the crew’s safety at the end of a flight.
NASA has been adamant Wilmore and Williams are not stranded or stuck, noting that many missions to the space stations have lasted months and are safe with plenty of supplies. The agency has also said that in the event of an emergency at the space station they could use their Starliner ship as an escape pod.
“We have done multiple successful long-duration missions, even up to a year. Those missions have given us volumes of data about the effects of long duration space flight that we continue to use in space exploration,” NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba said. “We are lucky to be in a time in human space flight where we have regular resupply missions, enabling the crews aboard the station to receive any extra supplies they may need, and where an eight-month mission falls within our standard long duration mission time frame.”
If NASA opts to use a SpaceX ship to bring the astronauts back to Earth, it will leave behind two astronauts for a SpaceX flight scheduled for late September and have two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams. But that plan would mean the Starliner crew would stay in space until February 2025.
Multiple teams of experts are examining the thruster failures Starliner had before it docked, which has been a challenge as the capsule is millions of miles away in space. Tests on the ground have replicated the problems with the thrusters but there is still uncertainty about whether they will be able to handle a return flight to Earth.
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